(Philadelphia, PA - January 24, 2017) - A new report shows that
the Philadelphia Housing Authority is outperforming federal goals
in providing both employment and business opportunities to low and
very low income people in the city.

The results are contained in the latest "Section 3" reports
filed by the authority with the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Section 3 is a provision in the HUD Act of 1968
that seeks to ensure that economic opportunities are afforded to
low and very low-income citizens. The numbers reported by PHA
covered Fiscal Year 2016, a period running from April 1, 2015 to
March 31, 2016.

"PHA is an economic engine for the City. Besides housing
families and seniors, our objectives include business development
and the self-sufficiency for our residents. So it is
gratifying that we have provided enough economic opportunities that
exceed our stated goals," said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A.
Jeremiah. "We'll never be totally satisfied, but PHA takes
great pride in extending opportunities to people and businesses
that might otherwise miss out. I want to thank PHA's Board of
Commissioners for continuing to encourage us to grow in this
area."

The report to HUD shows that just over 54% of new hires under
PHA's capital fund program were Section 3 new hires, far exceeding
the minimum goal of 30 percent. Put another way, 277 of 512
people hired under the program were Section 3 new hires. The
housing authority's capital fund program, which is used for the
development and modernization of public housing developments,
totaled more than $44 million for FY 2016.

For FY 2016, PHA awarded over $3.3 million or 9.64% of its
construction contracts to Section 3 businesses. That's an
improvement over the past two years.

PHA far exceeded its minimum goal of three percent in
non-construction contracts awarded during that period. Over
$47 million in non-construction contracts went to Section 3
businesses or 14.14% of the total dollar amount of all such
contracts awarded.

PHA surpassed the minimum requirement for Section 3 new hires
under its operating fund program: nearly 63% of all new hires were
Section 3 applicants. The minimum goal for this category is
30%.

The percentage of construction and non-construction contracts
awarded under the program handily beat the minimums required.
Just shy of 15% of construction contracts awarded or over $1.29
million went to Section 3 businesses. PHA's minimum
requirement is 10 percent. Meanwhile, over 18 percent of
non-construction contracts awarded under the operating fund program
or over $3.57 million went to Section 3 businesses. The
minimum here is three percent.